HIV |
HCV |
| Blood-borne & sexually transmitted virus |
Blood-borne |
| Affects the immune system |
Affects the liver |
| Infection is lifelong |
Appox. 15-25% clear the virus
75-85% develop chronic infection |
| IDU is a major risk factor |
IDU is a major risk factor |
| NO vaccine available |
NO vaccine available |
ELISA/EIA screening with RIBA or PCR
confirmation |
ELISA/EIA screening with Western Blot
confirmation |
| Treatment may last a lifetime |
Treatment typically lasts 6 – 12 months |
| High viral load indicates disease progression |
High viral load does not correlate with liver damage |
| Viral loads do not randomly fluctuate |
Viral loads fluctuate randomly |
| Many anti-viral treatments available |
Only interferon and ribavirin approved at this time |
| Appears to accelerate HCV progression |
Unclear if HCV accelerates HIV progression |
High risk of transmission from blood to blood
contact |
Rate of transmission from blood to blood contact is
10 times higher than HIV |
| Transmission by unprotected sex |
Lower chance of unprotected sexual transmission |
| Mother to infant transmission 20 – 30% |
Mother to infant transmission 4% |